Survey Technician job description: duties, skills and qualifications.

Core duties

16

O*NET task statements

O*NET occupation

Surveying and Mapping Technicians

O*NET-SOC 17-3031.00

Preparation

Job Zone 3 of 5

medium preparation

Typical entry education

High school diploma or equivalent

BLS 2025–35

Median pay

$54,240

BLS May 2025

Data Government data groups this job as Surveying and Mapping Technicians (O*NET-SOC 17-3031.00). O*NET 31.0 lists “Survey Technician” as a job title for this occupation only (evidence: O*NET's Sample of Reported Titles (titles job holders report), O*NET job-incumbent data and employer job postings). Figures on this page are for that occupation. TryHired has no separate career page for this title yet.

1. Set out and recover stakes, marks, or other monumentation. importance 4.3 of 5
2. Search for section corners, property irons, or survey points. importance 4.3 of 5
3. Calculate latitudes, longitudes, angles, areas, or other information for mapmaking, using survey field notes or reference tables. importance 4.2 of 5
4. Adjust and operate surveying instruments such as prisms, theodolites, electronic distance measuring equipment, or electronic data collectors. importance 4.1 of 5
5. Check all layers of maps to ensure accuracy, identifying and marking errors and making corrections. importance 4.0 of 5
6. Collect information needed to carry out new surveys, using source maps, previous survey data, photographs, computer records, or other relevant information. importance 4.0 of 5
7. Record survey measurements or descriptive data, using notes, drawings, sketches, or inked tracings. importance 4.0 of 5
8. Prepare topographic or contour maps of land surveyed, including site features and other relevant information, such as charts, drawings, and survey notes. importance 4.0 of 5
9. Supervise or coordinate activities of workers engaged in surveying, plotting data, drafting maps, or producing blueprints, photostats, or photographs. importance 4.0 of 5
10. Compile information necessary to stake projects for construction, using engineering plans. importance 4.0 of 5
11. Identify and compile database information to create requested maps. importance 4.0 of 5
12. Monitor mapping work or the updating of maps to ensure accuracy, inclusion of new or changed information, or compliance with rules and regulations. importance 3.9 of 5
13. Complete detailed source and method notes describing the location of routine or complex land parcels. importance 3.9 of 5
14. Position and hold the vertical rods, or targets, that theodolite operators use for sighting to measure angles, distances, and elevations. importance 3.9 of 5
15. Design or develop information databases that include geographic or topographic data. importance 3.9 of 5
16. Research and combine existing property information to describe property boundaries in relation to adjacent properties, taking into account parcel splits, combinations, or land boundary adjustments. importance 3.9 of 5

Work activities O*NET rates most important here: Working with Computers, Getting Information, Documenting/Recording Information, Processing Information and Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates.

Also part of the job

Supplemental tasks O*NET lists for this occupation: less central than the core duties above, and not done in every job.

• Prepare cost estimates for mapping projects.

Knowledge areas: Geography, Mathematics, English Language, Computers and Electronics and Customer and Personal Service.

Software O*NET lists for this occupation: Autodesk AutoCAD, Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D, Bentley MicroStation, ESRI ArcGIS software, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software. These are examples O*NET records for the job, not a list of tools every employer uses or a checklist of what you must know.

• Education: BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education.
• Experience: BLS lists no work experience in a related occupation as typical to enter.
• Training on the job: BLS lists moderate-term on-the-job training as typical once hired.
• Preparation: O*NET places the job in Job Zone 3 of 5 (medium preparation). Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations.
• Licenses and certifications: not listed here. A license is a legal requirement set by a state; a certification is a credential from a private or professional body. Rules vary by state and employer, and a missing entry on this page does not mean none is required: check with your state's licensing board.

The most common answer among survey technicians surveyed by O*NET is a high school diploma or equivalent (33%).

Job title: Survey Technician
[Company] · [City, State] · [Full-time or part-time] · [Pay range, where your state requires one]

About the role
[Company] is hiring a Survey Technician to perform surveying and mapping duties, usually under the direction of an engineer, surveyor, cartographer, or photogrammetrist, to obtain data used for construction, mapmaking, boundary location, mining, or other purposes.
[One sentence on your team and why this role matters.]

What you will do
- Set out and recover stakes, marks, or other monumentation.
- Search for section corners, property irons, or survey points.
- Calculate latitudes, longitudes, angles, areas, or other information for mapmaking, using survey field notes or reference tables.
- Adjust and operate surveying instruments such as prisms, theodolites, electronic distance measuring equipment, or electronic data collectors.
- Check all layers of maps to ensure accuracy, identifying and marking errors and making corrections.
- Collect information needed to carry out new surveys, using source maps, previous survey data, photographs, computer records, or other relevant information.
- Record survey measurements or descriptive data, using notes, drawings, sketches, or inked tracings.
- Prepare topographic or contour maps of land surveyed, including site features and other relevant information, such as charts, drawings, and survey notes.

What we are looking for
- [Education: BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as typical for this occupation; set the level this role truly needs]
- [Experience: BLS lists no related work experience as typical to enter; set what this role needs]
- Strength in reading comprehension, critical thinking and complex problem solving
- Working knowledge of Geography and Mathematics
- [Software your team uses, e.g. Autodesk AutoCAD or Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D]
- [Any license or certification your state or company requires]

[Schedule, benefits and how to apply]

Illustrative: every name, employer, school, date and number in these samples is fictional or a bracketed placeholder. Replace each bracket with your own true details; never copy a result you did not achieve.

Not a real job posting. This template is TryHired's illustration built from government occupational data. It is not an opening at any employer, and no employer wrote it.

For Surveying and Mapping Technicians, the median annual wage was $54,240 in May 2025. The median hourly wage was $26.08. BLS estimates about 58,010 jobs in this occupation in the U.S.

BLS projects employment of Surveying and Mapping Technicians to grow 5.8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 6,900 openings a year over that period, including openings to replace workers who leave.

• Read a real survey technician posting next to the core duties above. Duties it repeats, such as “Set out and recover stakes, marks, or other monumentation”, tell you what that employer weighs most; anything it adds is specific to that team.
• Tailor your resume to the posting, not to this page: describe only survey technician work you have actually done, with your own results.
• Prepare a story for each of the top-rated skills (reading comprehension and critical thinking): a real situation, what you did and what changed.